It Is Not The First Time BCI Chairman Has Messed Up, The Examples of Manan Kumar Mishra’s Misadventures are Many

THE BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA (BCI) Chairman, Manan Kumar Mishra, has attracted the political spotlight following the issuance of a notice asking the state bar councils to freeze the enrolment of National Academy of Legal Studies and Research’s  (NALSAR) 2026 graduating batch as lawyers across India on August 13, 2026. This notice came in response to the NALSAR University’s 2026 batch protesting against the invitation of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to the convocation ceremony. Around 450 students of NALSAR had written to the university authorities about their objection to the CJI's arrival as the chief guest.

The notice gathered intense backlash, forcing the BCI Chairman to retract it. After this, the BCI issued another notice stating that the committee had come to this decision of not cancelling enrolment, but there would be an inquiry into the student organizers and the faculty of NALSAR University of Law. However, NALSAR did not comply immediately with the BCI's directive. It also issued a response just before midnight stating that an executive committee meeting of the university would take place to discuss whether such an inquiry was constitutional or permissible under the rules of the university.

See Also: The Bar Council of India Withdraws Its Order Within Hours: After Telling NALSAR To Not Enrol 2026 Law Graduates, BCI Changes Its Own Decision

Amid all the ruckus lies a bigger question: Can the BCI direct state councils to halt enrollment of students? Questions are also being raised about the neutrality of Bar Council of India as its chairman Manan Kumar Mishra has publicly supported the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and is a Member of Parliament on BJP’s ticket.

Who is the BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra? 

Manan Kumar Mishra is the Chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI)—a statutory body established by the Parliament to regulate and represent the Indian Bar, manage its affairs, oversee its conduct and exercise disciplinary jurisdiction. He began practising as a lawyer in 1982, and later became an advocate in the apex court. However, what is most significant here is that Manan Kumar Mishra has been leading the Bar Council of India since November 2014, when he was elected for the first time. Since then, he has been re-elected as the chairman for a record seventh consecutive term in 2025.

Alongside his legal career, Mishra has also been active in politics. His debut in electoral politics took place in the 2010 Bihar assembly elections on a Congress ticket. But he soon became an open supporter of the BJP. In 2014, during the Lok Sabha elections, Mishra actively campaigned for Narendra Modi in Varanasi. In one of the BCI events in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, he referred to Modi as the reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi. He even mentioned in a press conference organized by BJP in 2014, that he was supporting Modi as a representative of 1.7 million lawyers across the country, and not on behalf of the BCI as a body. Speaking to the media during the 2014 election campaigns, Manan Mishra had pointed out that the hope for better days in Varanasi is only there with Modi's arrival.

In a social media post on X, by Nayani Anurag Reddy—an entrepreneur, liberalist, and Spiritual thinker—there is a letter from the Bar Council of India's office issued on October 3, 2016, that has already gained substantial traction online. In the letter, Manan Kumar Mishra addressed Prime Narendra as  'My lord', 'Our guardian', 'Our guide' and as 'the most efficient and able leader of the world.' The  letter further goes on to say “The Bar Council of India is your [Narendra Modi’s] institution. 

Independence of the Judiciary

The examples of Manan Kumar Mishra’s misadventures are plenty. An official statement of the Bar Council of India issued during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests on December 22, 2019, unequivocally referred to the protesters as an 'illiterate ignorant mass.' Subsequently, almost 1,000 lawyers disassociated themselves from the statement, saying that it did not represent the view of the Bar.

Manan Mishra has been BCI's chairman since 2014, and a closer look at the chronology of BCI's actions seeks to raise some crucial questions. Following the 2019 CAA protests, there was an amendment to the rules of the BCI. In 2021, BCI made 'public criticism' of its decisions, or that of the State Bar Councils, a punishable matter, which could lead to suspension or disqualification. This decision faced immense backlash, and the controversial provisions were kept on hold.

Following the same sequence, the BCI Chairman, on August 13, 2026, issued a notice asking all the state bar councils across the country to halt the enrolment of all the graduating students from the NALSAR University of Law this year. This was a response to the students' opposition to inviting CJI Surya Kant to their convocation ceremony. However, the notice received intense backlash, compelling the BCI to retract it. Even CJI Surya Kant has questioned this move by the Bar Council. In a response to Senior Advocate K Parameshwar, CJI Surya Kant stated that, "Naturally, this is absolutely uncalled for. It’s a dialogue between students and me. Who are they to raise an issue? This is totally uncalled for. In my student days I have been actively involved in student activities. Assuming, even if they are wrong, they have a right to protest. BCI doesn’t have any business," reported the legal news outlet, Bar and Bench. 

This entire chain of events cannot help but notice the fact that Manan Kumar Mishra has been closely aligning himself with the Bharatiya Janata Party since the 2014 campaign. As of now, he is a member of the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, and was elected to the house as a BJP nominee in August 2024.

As of now, the situation has snowballed further, with two NALSAR alumni having approached the Supreme Court. They are seeking an inquiry into the BCI's jurisdiction in issuing its decision to halt enrolment and identify the protesting students.

One of the fundamental pillars of a constitutional democracy like ours is to ensure the independence of three governmental organs, i.e. the legislative, executive and judiciary. This ensures that there are appropriate checks and balances, something that the aforementioned statement misses out on a bit. A similar instance was also witnessed when former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. BCI then welcomed this nomination stating that it was a 'bridge between the Legislature and Judiciary.' However, in 2018, the BCI had publicly urged CJI Dipak Misra—who held office from August 28, 2017 to October 2, 2018—to refrain from accepting any post-retirement political responsibility, as it was necessary to protect the 'independence and integrity of the judiciary.' It is of utmost significance to ensure the judiciary’s independence, and the NALSAR-BCI row reaffirms our responsibility to uphold the constitutional norms.

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